Earlise Ward

Dr. Earlise Ward is a psychologist working at University Health Services, with a focus on providing mental health counseling to health professions students.

Earlise received her PhD education at UW–Madison and her clinical training at UHS, Journey Mental Health Center, and Mendota Mental Health Institute. Earlise considers her approach to care as eclectic, while prioritizing mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Earlise is also a tenured professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, at UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. In addition, she works at UW Carbone Cancer Center, in the role of program lead for the Cancer Health Disparities Initiative. Earlise conducts research focus on designing and efficacy testing of culturally adapted depression treatments for African American adults with clinical depression. She has grown her research internationally through collaboration with colleagues in the U.S. Virgin Islands Ghana, Africa, and the UK. Earlise received international recognition in 2018 when she was appointed as an Honorary Associate Professor of Psychology at the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter, UK. Earlise has continued collaborating with Dr. Farrand at the University of Exeter. In 2024 she received funding from UW Carbone Cancer Center to conduct a pilot study examining the efficacy of a depression treatment delivered on a Smartphone App to patients and survivors of health and neck cancer.

In her free time Earlise enjoys yoga, long walks, and spending time with her husband and their cat, Melo.